To Take the Pain Away
by UnfathomableFandoms
Summary: Ezra discovers he holds the power to heal through the Force - but there are some things even the Force can't heal. It won't stop him from trying. NOTE: Code error fixed, thanks for letting me know!


**Set about 2 weeks after Twilight Of the Apprentice, based loosely on the trailer. Beta: Radcat, THANK YOU!**

* * *

Sabine cried out, nearly dropping Ezra. Ezra strained to hold on to her wrist, arms burning.

"Sabine!"

"I'm fine!" She said, in a voice that made it clear she was not fine. "They got my leg. Can you distract them?"

"Drop me over there," he said, nodding to a mesa straight ahead. "I'll fend them off. You call for backup."

Sabine swooped like a bird of prey and dropped him. He barely had time to cushion his fall with the Force, and rolled not so-gracefully to his feet, igniting his lightsaber. Most of their attackers focused their fire on him, but a few continued to chase Sabine.

"Kriff," Ezra muttered. "No you don't! No one else gets hurt on my watch!"

Except maybe himself. This was a crazy plan in the middle of a near-hopeless situation, and he was one Padawan in bright shirt that made an excellent target. He probably should have thought that through.

He really hoped the Ghost got here soon

"Okay boys," He shouted. "Come and get me!"

He took a running start at the next mesa and threw himself, trusting in the Force more than his momentum. Now would be a great time to shoot him in the back.

Ezra landed with a jolt to his bones and lept up, igniting his lightsaber to deflect the bolts coming his way. Sabine, with three less friendly Mandalorians in tow, was coming up ahead. She was doing her best to fire back, and took down one on her own. Her aim wasn't what it usually was, but she was still a damn good shot.

"You good?"

"Just peachy!"

"I'll get the third, you concentrate on the second."

Ezra turned his back on the people shooting at him and extinguished his saber - a very stupid idea - and leapt on board the third Mandalorian. He grunted, holstering his blaster and turning in midair to grapple with Ezra. Ezra ripped off his helmet and punched him in the jaw, he retaliated with a knee to Ezra's navel. Ezra grunted, nearly falling into the trail of his jetpack. Ezra scrambled to get a grip, ignited his saber, and slashed through the fuel canisters.

Ezra let go before he could go down with him. Trusting in the Force again, he landed gracefully on the ground. He couldn't say the same for his ride.

"Where are you, Hera?" He mumbled to himself. He was being pelted by fire, and soon Sabine wouldn't be the only one that was injured.

He retreated, running backwards to the base of a nearby mesa. He activated his comlink. "Now would be a great time,Spectre Two!" he said, as laser fire scorched the rocks a foot from his face.

"Don't stress Spectre Six, I've got this." He heard the scream of ship engines overtake the sound of blasters and smaller jetpack engines. The Ghost swooped overhead, scattering the Mandalorians like flies.

Ezra sighed in relief, searching for Sabine. He needed to do what he could for her now.

He caught a flash of color in a nook formed by rocks, relatively safe from blaster fire. He jogged over. She had taken off her helmet and had her eyes squeezed shut. Her face was sickly pale and She was cupping her thigh, where blood was soaking through her pants. She was breathing hard. "Let me see. Kanan taught me some"

Sabine uncovered her wound.

"Kriffen- Frack Sabine!" he dropped to his knees beside her. He tore some of the burnt fabric of her pants to see better. It wasn't the worst he'd seen, but this one hadn't cauterized properly on the rough trip back to the ground. The burnt tissue had torn when she'd landed and now the wound bubbled a steady trickle of fresh blood. She grit her teeth as she bit out her words, forcing her voice not to shake.

"It's- Not that bad. Just- I just need…" She tried to push herself up on her hands and drag herself upright, but the movement was obviously too much and she cried out, clutching her thigh. A stream of agonised Mando'a flew out of her mouth in a tone that made Ezra lift his eyebrows.

"Stop, Stop!" he old her, trying to push her back against the rock. She relented and let him lay her back down, tense as she was. He glanced down and saw the blood was quickly starting to spread down her leg. He swallowed his panic, took a deep and looked her in the eye. "It's going to be alright, Sabine. Just lay still okay. The crew are on their way. It won't be long. I'm going to get you fixed up, alright?."

She nodded faintly, but her cheeks were blanched and he eyes were shut tight. "I-I have a first aid kit-" She stumbled over her words. "In the pouch on my-my right side."

Ezra got to work. He fumbled in her pocket, and found the emergency bacta patches and some alcohol. His hands were shaking and stained with her blood. Sabne groaned and her knee jerked as the nerves spasmed.

"Alcohol," he warned her. "One, two, three-" he poured it in her wound and she hissed as it bubbled, gripping his free hand. He wrapped bandages around her leg, and watched as they soaked through in a matter of minutes - time they didn't have. The Ghost flew overhead again, and and blaster fire pummeled the ground at their feet.

Ezra was beginning to panic, Sabine was still groaning and bleeding, and he was out of bandages. He was useless. Another burn he couldn't heal, and not enough bandages to go around.

He thought back to that cursed night, how Kanan had groaned in pain and yet still comforted him and calmly instructed him. He remembered-

"I've fixed up worse wounds before, you know." Ezra started, struggling to hold her leg still and speaking over her grunts of pain.

"R-really?" Sabine asked, her voice skeptical. "When did you get medic training?"

"Kanan...Kanan taught me some things."

A sickly "oh," was her only reply. Oh Force, she was slipping away...

"Hey," he said in a last-ditch effort, brushing her bright, sweat-soaked hair back. "Just, just keep holding my hand, okay? You'll be okay, you'll be able to walk again in no time." He said, more or his own benefit than Sabine's

She cracked her eye open, a weak smile on her face. "Looks...like you finally got me to hold your hand."

Ezra smiled a little. It was good that she could still crack a joke. "Ha ha, not now." He shut his eyes, begging the Force for an answer.

Please, he begged, save her. Do what I can't do. Don't...don't let it happen again.

The pain seized him, wrapping around him like a lead blanket. He gasped, jerking away from her. The tension in her brows and shoulders had let up slightly.

What the kriff had he done?

"Hey Sabine-Sabine!" He eyes were closed, and she was breathing shallowly. "Sabine!" He shouted. He smacked her cheek lightly. "Wake up, stay with me. The crew will be here soon and we can get you to the medbay and - and I think I can take your pain away."

Sabine only mumbled in disconnected Mando'a

Ezra took her hand again, shutting his eyes and concentrating on his connection to her. The pain washed over him like a storm, seizing his muscles. He kept concentrating. He could feel her getting stronger, and heard her gasp in relief. Ezra grit his teeth, begging for the pain to ease but not stopping.

He hadn't known how long he sat there in focus until light flooded his vision. His connection shattered, but the ache in his very bones remained. He was tired.

He opened his eyes and squinted, and gasped in relief as he made out the shape the Ghost's search lights above them. He jerked to his feet, his muscles protesting. He struggled to stay upright and stumbled forward, pushing the sudden fatigue out of his mind. The familiar ship began to land, the bay doors already opening.

Ezra carefully scooped Sabine up in his arms and grabbed her helmet. Ezra jogged towards the Ghost, meeting the ship as Zeb and Kanan leaped to the ground.

"Sabines shot." he shouted in a flurry.

Zeb took Sabine from Ezra, taking her to the Ghost, but Kanan latched onto his arm without turning his mask.

"What happened to you? I can barely see you."

Kanan's sense of the word had long since changed for the crew. Eyes or not, his sight referred to his sense of the Force. He had never had trouble seeing Ezra.

"I- I'm fine." Ezra replied, though he felt like he'd been trampled by a herd of Bantha. 

Kanan's lips pursed. "You weren't shot too, were you? I sense- pain." Kanan's hand searched the air by his face, and finally found his cheek, taking it gently in his hand.

Tears were welling in Ezra's eyes, now he could barely see Kanan. "Kanan, I- I'm fine, really. Just in shock."

Kanan took Ezra in his arms and held on tight. Ezra concentrated hard, but only the dregs of the Force would come to him now. Nevertheless, pain seeped in. Kanan was in so much pain, and this was all Ezra could do.

"Ezra, what are you doing?"

Ezra buried his face further in his Kanan's shoulder - oh Force, he was almost as tall as Kanan now.

"Ezra stop."

Please, he begged the Force. Let me take it all. I deserve it.

The flood washed over him again, and he could barely breathe. He felt his heart seizing, his lungs begging for air, his muscles spasming. It was Kanan's pain, saved up for months, and amplified through exhaustion and the Force. He fell to his knees at Kanan's feet. He was pretty sure he was screaming.

He could barely hear Kanan shouting his name, barely feel him scooping him up in his arms. Everything was pain. He was on the edge of consciousness. He couldn't make it stop.

Suddenly he was cut off completely, like a tense band released back on him.

Ezra opened his eyes. Kanan was carrying him up the ramp to the Ghost, his mouth set in a firm line.

"Put me down, I can walk."

"If you don't try to do that ever again."

"I can't make any promises."

"You almost died, Ezra!"

"I can't let anyone else get hurt! I can't let you be hurting when it's my fault and I can fix it!"

Kanan gently put him down, and Ezra stood woozily on his own two feet. "You can't fix everything, Ezra; people are going to get hurt. You have to be ready to make sacrifices-"

"Fine, I'll sacrifice myself!"

"Ezra-"

"I'm going to go check on Sabine," he said, storming off towards her room.

"How is she?" Ezra demanded, sitting beside her bed.

Hera gave him an odd look. "Well, she lost a lot of blood, and there's a few scrapes and bruises…" Ezra tensed, preparing to hear the worst. "Otherwise, she's fine."

"What?" 

"There's a small scar on her thigh, but it's not proportional to the amount of blood on her pants- and your hands. What happened, Ezra? You look half dead."

So Ezra told her. He told her about the Mandalorians' attack, Sabine's quick thinking and the hit she'd taken. He explained, in awful detail how bad the situation had been and how he'd taken her pain away. Kanan entered halfway through, taking Hera's hand.

"You healed her, Ezra." Kanan said. "You didn't just take the pain away, that was a side effect of your panic. You saved her life."

Ezra stared at his hands. They had scrubbed clean but there was still flecks of and dirt and blood under his nails. He'd been so close to losing her for good. He didn't even have it in him to be amazed.

"Wait," he said. "Does that mean…" He trailed off and gently took Kanan's mask off.

And was met with crushing disappointment. What was left of Kanan's eyes were still cloudy and red, staring blankly into nothingness. An inflamed scar still spanned from temple to temple. Ezra felt sick. The ache still lived in his bones, and the disappointment in his soul.

"Even the Force can't heal some things, Ezra."

"I...I just want to save you. Let me try again, I swear it won't go too far this time."

"Ezra-" both Hera and Kanan protested. Hera was trying her hardest not to look at Kanan's fractured gaze. She took his mask from Ezra and put it back on, and left the room.

"You need sleep." Kanan insisted.

"I can't."

"I know. I can't either, but you nearly died and you completely exhausted your Force powers. Try, for me?"

"Kanan?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I just-"

"Shh. I know. Let's let Sabine rest and get some of our own."


End file.
